Baker Street

Cover version of the month #31

The Foo Fighters cover Baker Street

A couple of months ago I tweeted my usual cover of the month blog and I asked if anyone would like to contribute to the series. Dedé Arneaux messaged me to say that he would like to send something in and I was rather surprised to learn that it was a blog on The Foo Fighters covering the sax classic Baker Street! My first thought was, really?! And then, I must check this out!

And that is exactly the kind of reaction that I love to get from cover versions at times. Curiosity and surprise.

So they really did cover it.

Dedé Arneaux 

Written in '77. Gerry Rafferty's break up and move-on song when Stealers Wheel split. It's smooth, starting with flute, congas, cymbal rolls and a hint of fretless bass before the swooping sax solo chorus glides in supported by solid piano stabs high in the mix. There's a distinct air of swing about it. Sexy and at home on a Roxy Music album. Warm strings enter as we move from the bass and congas in the verse to the bridge. "You used to think that it was so easy" continues the horizontal, feet-up, hands behind the head feel before the chorus returns. If it's an advert ... it's for yoghurt.

In '92 Undercover record it, there's a longer Mickey Modelle clubland version and 20 years later and 20 years ago Baker Street appears as the final track on a special edition of Foo Fighters' '
The Colour and the Shape. It's the antithesis of smooth, the soundtrack for Hurricane Ophelia.

A single snare crack wakes dual rhythm guitars. Bludgeon riffola - overdriven to the point of darkness on the edge of down and out badness, 180 degree drum fills drive it, before the lead guitar comes crashing in playing the sax melody we all love. It's brutal and bionic.

Released into the verse, spoken word vocal sits atop a picked guitar line and another lightly strummed. Neither acoustic and teased along by bass drum and rim shot.

A leap from 2nd gear to 4th for the bridge, heavy duty drums on the one and returning distorted double rhythm guitars provide a contrast to the laid back voice and whooping and sliding bass that hark to the original. Grab your sixteenth note seat belt before kicking into top with the guitar solo chorus shadowed by dive bomb slides that add a whole lotta love and a sonic whiplash.

Foo Fighters replace give up the booze and the one night stands with give up the crack. Kinda sums up the transformation. The song climaxes with 2 mins plus of instrumental guitar and drum  riffery with a solo that's true to the original, doused in lighter fuel and alight.

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt
14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine
16. California Soul
18. Wonder wall 
19. Dancing In The Dark
20. Always On My Mind
21. Ceremony
22. Heroes
23. Different Drum
24. Wild Horses

25. Respect
26. Mr Tambourine Man
27. I Heard It Through The Grapevine
28. Superstar

29. Twist and Shout
30. Purple Rain

Kingdom of Wires by Kevin Harper

Once I loved a girl while i was broken hearted

So we were doomed from the minute it started

So begins 'Kingdom of Wires', the debut solo album by Kevin Harper, one of the most talented songwriters in Scotland.

Anyone familiar with Harper's work from his fondly remembered band Little Eskimo's will know that he isn't afraid to pour his heart out into his songs. 'Kingdom of Wires' takes things further, Kev has lived a life, he has loved and lost, several times, friends included.

Once I had a brother a friend for a lifetime
Until he left us, he suddenly left us

The title track flows superbly with guitars powering through and ringing true, much like Kev's lyrics.

Harper's love of American guitar music is evident throughout the album, perhaps displayed at best with 'Couch'. Catchy, personal and with an element of self depreciating humour, 'Couch' is brilliant.

In a year from now I will miss you still
If i could tell you I'm sorry, Jennifer i will

'Get Me Down' slows things down - well a little bit. There is a sense of urgency throughout the album, almost like these songs have been stored for a while and during recording (with Harper playing pretty much everything) they were just bursting out.

'Better Ways' rumbles into life and once again Harper is opening his heart to the world. The song fizzes into life like a classic Foo Fighters single for the chorus.

'I Was A Sailor' is a song I first heard many moons ago and it is great to hear it on record. I sometimes think that Kev must have lived in America in a previous lifetime. Real humour and playfulness on this track, although again there is that sense of hurt and looking for something new.

Gotta get some light in here

I can hardly see

I gotta get some air in here

I can barely breathe

'Said It All' has another soaring chorus and the guitars across the album sound fantastic.

A secret in the morning can be a ruin by the afternoon

'Glory Box' by Portishead can ruin the day for you

So begins 'Used It Well' before the chorus explodes into life - seriously, the way the choruses flow on this album are exceptional. The closing hook 'You gotta come back down' is the killer blow.

'Forgotten Girls' starts with just an acoustic guitar and drum machine and Kev's heartfelt vocals. Synths help power the chorus to this song, rather than the usual guitars. In that sense, it does break up the album quite nicely, offering something different and leading into some slower tracks.

The album goes off in a completely different direction with 'Oxygen' with Kev singing about another lost love who has a new boy who just uses her for 'idle entertainment'. The chorus on this song soars in a different way to others, there is barely anything backing up Harper other than emotional synth sounds.

The epic 6-and-a-half minute 'Jacqueline' closes the album in spectacular manner. There is a welcome increase in the speed and urgency of the song from the previous two songs 'Majorette; (ripe for an American sync deal!) and 'Gibraltar'. This is Kevin Harper and the Heartbreakers, acoustic guitars married perfectly to synths and electric guitar.

The guitar solo is scorching and Kev even allows a nice 'alright' during it, recognising the groove he has found with this tune. The song progresses into a real synth jam - brilliant.

Kevin Harper and his band play King Tuts on July 29th. The bands on after him better be on top of there game or he is going to blow them off the stage. See you there!

Little Eskimos - Rather Be Right, single review

I've been into Little Eskimos for a little over a year since they contributed their song 'Get Yourself Together Kid' to a charity album for Maggie's Centres. 


I've caught them a few times since then, got on with their singer/songwriter (and lead Eskimo) Kevin and spoken to a number of people about them. I've never heard a bad word about the and or Kevin, with many people praising them to the hilt.


Reading between the lines, quite a lot has happened in the North Pole over the last couple of years and Kevin was a lone Eskimo for a while. May 2011 finds him with a band of fellow Eskimos and keen to push his songs forward, perhaps encouraged by winning an award at the SAMA's (Scottish Alternative Music Awards) earlier this year, or perhaps because (like me) he gets pissed off at some of the utter sh*te that is released and drooled over.

So this is the single; 'Rather Be Right' b/w 'Barcode Music' that will hopefully push the band forwards. With a number of releases and gigs planned I hope so.


'Rather Be Right' is currently on its fourth play on itunes. 5 things I've learned about 'Rather Be Right' already are;

1. It's quite raw at times - in a good garage pop kind of way
2. Kevin does indeed have a great ear for pop music as so many people have told me
3. The break at 2 minutes 14 seconds is dramatic, lovely and clever
4. The short instrumental afterwards before it picks up again is great
5. The song then really flows to conclusion

I'm now on the fifth play, what more can I saw. It's a good f**king song. It is straight from the heart with the hook/chorus

you don't love me like I love you, you don't love me like I do, and it's harder to hold on

The aforementioned break see's Kev calming down from the rants in the verses, such as;

i miss the things about you that used to piss me off

oh baby what a cliche, oh baby what can i say

i'd rather be right, i'd rather be right than happy

It's a great choice for a single. The b-side, live favourite 'Barcode Music'  kicks off with huge crunching guitars, rocking like the Foo's. Perhaps taking the piss out of some of the bands kicking around, perhaps even an aim at himself during a writers block;

I wrote a new song, I wrote a new song, it sounds just like the last one

There is always a danger with live tracks failing to transfer to disc, but the recording maintains the ferocious live feeling of the song, but it's the a-side that does it for me, plus I'm about to nip out to play football so I need to finish this blog!

Check it out (and others) via Little Eskmos Soundcloud Page

The single is out on 27th June via itunes and all other places like that. Look for the band on facebook for updates, I know they are planning a single release party in their home town of Stirling.